Thursday, June 2, 2016

Once again Triangle Business Journal Staff Writer Lauren K. Ohnesorge misleads readers and the public on North Carolina layoff statistics

The first sentence reports North Carolina layoffs fell 400; 

"...Layoffs reported to the state were on the decline in May, from more than 1,200 reported in April to a little more than 800 in May.

Later in the story, after most stop reading and move on
in our short attention span theater mostly full of the marginally engaged world;

...Altogether, four layoff notices impacted 818 employees in the state in May, bringing the 2016 layoff total to 7,453. The number trumps last May’s total of 100.

May layoffs, year-over-year:

May 2016: 818

If 7,453 May, 2016 - 7,041 April, 2016 (below) = 412 year to date layoffs,
why does the May story say there were 818 layoffs?

May 2015: 100
May 2014: 867
May 2013: 1,370

There were eight times more May 2016 layoffs than May 2015.

While the numbers show a big decline, as May was the first month of 2016 to end layoffs at three digits, the numbers don't always tell the whole story..."

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/blog/morning-edition/2016/06/by-the-numbers-north-carolina-layoffs-in-may.html?ana=RSS%26s%3Darticle_search&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bizj_triad+%28Triad+Business+Journal%2953-
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May, 2016; Business Journal's Lauren K. Ohnesorge lipstick on a pig; "Mass layoffs in North Carolina slow down in April";

"As of Monday morning, a total of 37 notices resulting in 7,041 layoffs had been reported to the state.

If 7,453 May, 2016 - 7,041 April, 2016 = 412 year to date layoffs,
why does the May story say there were 818 layoffs?

...the monthly layoffs are at its lowest through four months this year.

The lipgloss on the swine intensifies; 

...April alone brought 1,235 layoffs


Farther down;

...It’s an uptick from the 503 layoffs reported in April 2015.

Farther down;

...it’s an increase over the numbers reported to the state in April 2014, when layoffs were estimated to impact 681 employees

Farther down;

Monthly layoff data, as reported to the N.C. Department of Commerce:

April: 1,235 layoffs disclosed

March: 1,259 layoffs disclosed

February: 1,753 layoffs disclosed

January: 2,774 layoffs disclosed

http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/blog/morning-edition/2016/05/by-the-numbers-mass-layoffs-in-north-carolina-slow.html?ana=RSS%26s%3Darticle_search&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+bizj_triad+%28Triad+Business+Journal%29